


Another Year Later

by dietcokeenthusiast



Series: Life of Asgore [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Post-Canon, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-12 17:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5675011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dietcokeenthusiast/pseuds/dietcokeenthusiast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to One Year Later. Another year has passed, and most of the monsters who've come to the surface have been moving forward in their lives. In the case of Asgore, however, old hangups die hard and it's starting to jeopardize the life he's made for himself. It's up to him, possibly with the help of some friends, to find a way to hold on to what he has.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Bridesman

“Oh my freakin’ god, Asgore! How did you ever even deal with this?” Undyne nearly shouted as she fixed her hair. “I’m supposed to be tough and cool, dammit! I shouldn’t be so freakin’ nervous right now!”

Asgore chuckled. “It is okay, Undyne. If you are feeling nervous, then all that means is that you care a great deal for Alphys. On my wedding day, I was so nervous I nearly tugged the beard from my chin!”

“Please don’t put that image in my head! The idea of you without a beard is very unsettling,” Papyrus chimed in as he finished polishing up Undyne’s combat boots. “This is supposed to be a happy day.”

“Papyrus, is that still the only way you have been able to tell Toriel and I apart?”

“Well, I’m not saying that it’s not!”

“Ngahh! Would you two shut up!?” Undyne interjected, fighting with her tie. “Asgore’s facial hair isn’t the most important thing right now!”

Asgore bowed his head. “My apologies.”                                       

“Well, I thought it’d be a welcome distraction!”

“Of course you would,” Undyne grumbled, slipping her arms into the suit jacket Asgore held out for her.

“For what it is worth, the two of you have always made the nicest couple,” Asgore reassured her. “You always make time for one another, and are not afraid to show your love.”

“It’s true!” Papyrus added. “I only find myself slightly less nauseated when I see you two than when I hear stories about Asgore and the Queen! And those two were awful!”

“Thank you for that, Papyrus,” Asgore grumbled. “Truthfully, I was surprised that it was not until Frisk showed up that you realized your feelings for one another. “

“Come on, Fluffybuns. You know I would have made a move sooner or later, right?! Frisk just kind of helped a bit.”

“Yes. I am certain that you and Alphys would have gotten together without any outside influence,” Asgore replied, not fully believing it. “My point still stands, however. I am certain you will make wonderful spouses.”

Undyne grinned at Asgore. “Thanks! Seeing as you’ve been there and everything, got any advice on not screwing up the whole marriage thing?”

Asgore tried not to look too taken aback by Undyne’s honesty. “If you do not plan to kill human children, then you will be fine.”

“Oh. Damn. Well, I did actually kind of plan that with you before…”

“I think Alphys might be a bit more forgiving than Toriel, so unless you are planning to kill more human children, you will be fine.” Asgore grinned despite himself.

“Hooray for love and not committing murder!” Papyrus exclaimed.

“As long as she’s still fine with me beating up people who deserve it! Fuhuhuhu!” There was a crack as Asgore’s head hit Papyrus’ when Undyne yanked the both of them into a group hug. “Thanks guys, you’re the best bridesmen I could ever ask for!”

Asgore rubbed his sore head. “Do not mention it.”

“I feel like I could cry!” Papyrus cried. “Really, Undyne, you’re squeezing too hard. I actually might cry!” That seemed to be enough to convince Undyne to let them go.

Asgore quickly adjusted his mantle in the mirror. It was a special enough occasion that he was willing to wear some of his old royal garb. He always found weddings enjoyable, and wouldn’t have missed his two best friends getting married for the world. Not to mention that there was a sense of excitement in getting to have such an important role as one of the bridesmen.

“Are you ready?” Asgore asked.

Undyne took a deep breath, and double laced her boots. “I’m ready.”

The trio emerged from one of the side rooms into the main hall, which had been designed to resemble the main corridor of the old royal Home underground, though with significantly more seating. As they made their way to the front of the hall, Asgore scanned the crowd. The canine guard were all happily yapping amongst themselves, while a strange fluid seeped from the Amalgamate’s… mouth? Nose? Asgore couldn’t quite figure out what the orifice was, and wasn’t sure he ever wanted to. A vendor strolled down the aisle behind them with a nice cream cart. If slurping away at a cone during the vows wouldn’t have been so awkward, he probably would have appreciated one. Not to mention Undyne looked so high strung that she would likely strangle him if he did _anything_ to mess things up. Right beside him, Papyrus looked like he was having the time of his life. At the front, Napstablook looked around nervously. They hardly seemed the type to officiate a wedding, but then they hardly seemed the type to do much of anything.

Looking across the aisle once they had made their way to the front, Mettaton and Frisk were wearing the ugliest yellow dresses he had ever seen. Not that he was the most fashion conscious person, but not even Mettaton’s legs looked good in them. As for Frisk, he couldn’t help but notice how fast they were growing up. They were only a little bit shorter than Mettaton, even with him in those ridiculous heels he always wore. He wondered if one day he might be there at their wedding…

His eyes turning back to the crowd, he finally saw her dash in. A grin spread across Asgore’s face. Even in a dirty apron and a day of solid work baking for the wedding, Muffet looked as beautiful and graceful as ever. Hoping to catch her attention, Asgore waved. It was not as though he was terribly hard to miss, after all. Smiling, Muffet blew him a kiss before disappearing to the back again. He hoped he would see more of her at the reception.

A few minutes of waiting later, and an uneasy Napstablook moved up to the microphone. “oh, hi everyone. i guess we should probably get this started. unless you’re enjoying talking to each other. i wouldn’t want to get in the way of that or anything. oh…”

When the crowd’s attention still hadn’t been gotten, Mettaton stepped in and grabbed the mic. “It’s okay, Blooky! I’ve got this.” Undyne muttered something under her breath that Asgore assumed was probably not very polite. “Hello beauties! We’ll be underway soon, but first I just want to tell you all that frozen Glamburgers are now available in a grocery store near you! Enjoy the patented, sequinny taste of MTT brand Glamburgers from the comfort of your own home!” Asgore did his best to keep quiet as Mettaton remained oblivious to Papyrus attempting to hold a very angry looking Undyne back.

“That jerk is turning my wedding into a commercial?! HE’S DEAD!” she snarled.

“Please, Undyne!” Papyrus pleaded. “It’s not considered nice to murder the maid of honor!”

“Fine! I’ll just kick his a-“

“Ahem. So with that, let the ceremony begin!” He struck a pose before returning back to his spot beside Frisk.

Moments later, a figure appeared at the other end of the room. Alphys started to make her way down the aisle in her long, white gown. Her face was glowing such a bright shade of red she could light up the entire hall. In spite of that, Asgore noticed there was something about the way his friend carried herself that was a little bit different. She stood up a little bit straighter than her usual slouch, and despite the flush in her face, she didn’t try to cover it with her hands, veil, or bouquet. It was as though however nervous she was, she was going to brave it, knowing in the end that it would all be worthwhile.

Seeing Undyne stand mouth agape as Alphys got closer, Asgore placed a hand on her shoulder. “You will do fine, Undyne. I am so happy for the both of you.”

“Thanks, big lug,” she whispered back.

Finally, Alphys had made it to the front, and her and Undyne were gazing at each other like the rest of the corridor didn’t exist. “oh, well, we’re all here today to see these two women get married. i think that’s why we’re all here, anyways. it’s okay if you’re not, but you know, this is still going to happen. unless i do it wrong…” Napstablook stammered. “so, i guess we should go fast, so i can’t mess things up. maybe one of you could read your vows. or not, if you don’t want to.”

“I… I do want to.” Alphys grinned nervously. “U-Undyne, ever since you stuffed me into that garbage can, well, I knew I found the one. As, um, shy and as awful as I thought that I was, y-you always made time for me, shared my favorite things with me, and let me yell about the really bad animes, like Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2. When I’m with you, I feel like, well, like I don’t need to be so nervous and scared.”  
  
Performing a pirouette, Mettaton stepped in to dab the sweat off of Alphys’ forehead. Behind the two of them, Frisk pantomimed Alphys’ vows, doing everything from acting out scenes from anime to violently flailing their arms to imitate Alphys’ ranting. “I vow to treasure you like a long walk in a garbage dump, to keep trying to be a b-better woman for you, and, um, and t-t-to …”Alphys paused for a moment while she gathered herself. “And to stay with you for every smooch, fight, cooking lesson, and anime night.” Alphys borrowed a handkerchief from Frisk, and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I love you, Undyne.”

Asgore put an arm around Papyrus as he buried his face into his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

“IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!” He shrieked, proceeding to blow his nose, or the skeletal equivalent, on Asgore’s tie.

Asgore sighed. “Oh. Um, yes. Indeed it is, Papyrus.” Trying not to focus on the state of his tie, he instead turned his focus to Undyne. Her smile was tender in a way Asgore had never seen before. “Alphys… I, I…”

Suddenly, she yanked her close, and hoisted her up in the air with one arm. Amazingly, Undyne was still able to keep hold of Alphys, even as she frantically started flailing her arms in the air. Leaping up onto the archway, she clutched her spear in one hand. “ALPHYS!” She bellowed. “I vow to keep my passion for you burning like pot of spaghetti!”

 _That was their cue._ Gesturing for Papyrus to do the same, Asgore reached into his pocket for a handful of cherry blossom petals, and threw them into the air around Undyne. “I vow to be the warrior princess that’ll beat up anyone that even THINKS of hurting you!” she continued, catching each of the petals with her spear. The crowd gasped at the display. Meanwhile, Asgore was simply happy she hadn’t caught his hand like in rehearsal. He still hadn’t been able to take the bandage off yet. Once every last petal had been stuck on the point of her spear, she leapt up with Alphys into the air, and drove her spear through the archway, splitting it in two. Alphys just stared dreamily at her. “I vow to always be strong and tough whenever you need me to be!” Finally, she dipped Alphys low, and held her face only inches away. “I promise to go from being the best damn girlfriend ever, to the best damn wife ever! You’re my favorite dork on top of and under the world, and I freakin’ love you!” Undyne had barely finished the sentence before Alphys had put her arms around Undyne’s neck, and pulled her into a kiss, knocking them both down on the floor.

Napstablook looked as though they couldn’t figure out what the heck they were supposed to do. “oh… well I guess that’s good enough, maybe. looks like you both say o do… i’ll just leave you to be wife and wife. officially, i mean. oh…” Regardless, it seemed to be good enough for the crowd and the brides’ parties, who clapped and cheered. Getting to their feet, Undyne was grinning wildly and Alphys somehow turned even redder as they walked down the aisle together.

Asgore was beaming as he and Papyrus, who was still bawling his eye sockets out, followed the happy couple down the aisle. The day couldn’t have possibly gone better; the vows went off without a hitch, he was honored to have been part of the ceremony, and if anyone deserved to find happiness with one another, it was those two.

As he was about to leave the hall, though, he caught sight of Sans and Toriel, sharing a nose nuzzle. He nearly stopped right in his tracks, but forced himself to keep on walking and avert his eyes. All this time, and it still wasn’t comfortable for him to look at. The feeling was only made worse at his guilt for even having that hard a time with it to begin with. It had been years since he and Toriel were together, she had moved on, and not so long ago he did as well. There was absolutely no reason he should ever have felt bothered by Toriel and Sans together, especially not as Alphys and Undyne were taking such a big step forward today. Try as he might, though, these feelings weren’t so easily ignored.

Knowing her would probably not be successful in trying to deal with those thoughts right now, he simply resolved to keep his eyes averted, and to keep moving forward. As he did, though, he felt something get stuck on his horns. Instinctively looking up, he still couldn’t see what it was.

“Asgore, you did it!” Alphys exclaimed.

“Um, what is it that I did?” He asked, confused.

“You caught the bouquet!” Alphys announced. “Well, um, Frisk said sometimes at human weddings you’re supposed to throw flowers and then someone catches them, and that’s good for some reason? B-but you caught them, so it’s yours! Uh, again.”

“Wowie! Nonspecific good things are the best kind!” Papyrus added.

Asgore reached up to grab it from his horns, and examined the bouquet. He wasn’t sure what good it was supposed to do for him, but at least he did a fine job of assembling it, if he did say so himself.

It was a shame that putting other things together didn’t come quite so easily to him.


	2. The Reception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catering a wedding reception is pretty hard work, but Muffet has the knack for it. Trying to get a stubborn old goat to open up to her? That's another story entirely.

“Attention , everyone!” Papyrus announced, throwing his tie over his shoulder as if it were his scarf. Muffed looked up from putting the last of the sprinkles on her cupcakes. “The great Papyrus will now make a toast!”

“heh. break a leg bro.”

“Gah! Don’t you start right now!” he cried. “First of all, thank you all for being here! I remember the first time that I met Undyne, when I was just a baby bone hoping to join the royal guard and become popular,”

“uh, papyrus? that was just a few years ago.”

“AS I WAS SAYING… I didn’t think I would ever meet anyone cooler in my entire life! The first time I met her, I was so scared-“

“-it rattled your bones?” Sans offered. Toriel burst out into raucous laughter, as Papyrus just glared at him, eyes bugging out of his head.

After Toriel’s laughter quieted down, Papyrus continued. “As scared as I was, though, Undyne proved right away just how good a friend she actually was! She started to train me, gave me cooking lessons, sent me out to look for humans, and did whatever she could to help me. Once you got used to the noogies and didn’t make her mad, she wasn’t scary at all!”

Undyne’s grin was as wide as it had ever been as Papyrus continued. “So I was _really_ lucky to be able to have Undyne as a friend, but it wouldn’t be until later I got to know Alphys. When all I knew about her was that she was the royal scientist and really smart,” Alphys’ face turned red at the compliment. “ She helped me to set up some really cool puzzles in Snowdin for the human that fell down, our friend Frisk! Right then I knew that I couldn’t not be friends with someone else who respects our tradition of pointless, aggravating puzzles. While Alphys has always been a little bit nervous, I can’t think of anyone who deserves to be confident more than her! She’s a genius and a great friend!”

Alphys buried her face in Undyne’s jacket, who just smiled and planted a smooch on top of her. Papyrus went on. “So as soon as I heard that the two of them had a crush on each other, I knew then that they were going-“

“-tibia a good couple?”

“OH MY GOD SANS, SHUT UP!” He shrieked. After a few moments of awkward silence, he finally spoke. “But yes, that was actually right. Not only were these two of the nicest, awesomest, best monsters I ever knew, it was clear just how much they liked each other! Undyne would keep soda in her fridge just for Alphys, Alphys would always call Undyne to ask pointless questions, and Alphys would even write stories about the two of them together in her journal which she left lying out!”

Alphys and Undyne exchanged a nervous look. “Because I feel it shows how much they love each other, I’m going to read one of those stories right now!” Papyrus declared, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

Alphys and Undyne nodded at one another, and then started clapping.The rest of the crowd joined in, much to Papyrus’ confusion. “Great job, Papyrus!” Undyne called out.

“But I haven’-“

“YUP! GREAT JOB PAPYRUS!” Undyne emphasized, which seemed to be enough to indicate that the toast was over. Muffet chuckled to herself. If nothing else, his toast was very sweet, and certainly entertaining.

Of course, the end of the toast also meant it was time for the cake. Ducking into the back quickly, Muffet made her way back out with a massive triple-decker cake. The frosting on the sides made a lacy, almost web-like pattern. Muffet was especially pleased with how the figures on top turned out; little likenesses of Undyne and Alphys made entirely of sugar and food coloring.

Wheeling the cart over to the happy couple’s table, she tapped Asgore’s shoulder as she passed by, winking when he turned his head. While Muffet definitely appreciated the work, being booked to cater the wedding, she wished she would have had a bit more time to spend with her dearest, or even the wedding as a whole. She hadn’t even had the chance to ask Mettaton for his autograph yet! Still, once the cake and the other treats were served, though, she’d be able to take a break.

Finally at Alphys and Undyne’s table, she presented the cake with a curtsey. As she moved to hand the couple the knife, Undyne immediately hurled her spear at the cake at full force, splitting it in two and sending a spray of frosting towards the nearby tables, and at Muffet as well. Trying as best she could to get the frosting out of her hair (and there was inevitably going to be some left over regardless of her efforts), she fought the urge to enact any sort of retaliation. She might not have a great deal of respect for the work that went into creating such an elaborate wedding cake, but it was still Undyne’s special day.

“Cake is served, everyone!” Undyne declared, Muffet smiling and curtseying once again.

“Yeah! Enjoy, everyone!” Alphys added. Deciding at this point the two… piles were probably best left to the others, Muffet was off to the kitchen to get the last of the treats set out for the party, running back and forth between the two places. During her third trip, she started to notice something was amiss. Though music was playing, friends were sharing food and drink, and Alphys and Undyne were preparing for their first dance, Asgore was noticeably uninvolved in any of it. He was plopped down at a far-off table, looking more closely at his cake than at anything going on around him. Part of her wanted to go over and scold him for his rudeness, leaving the people he was supposed to be there for, but she knew him well enough to know that if Asgore’s behavior was _ever_ untoward, there had to be a reason for it.

She considered approaching him herself, but noticed Frisk standing beside her. “Oh! Hello dearie~” She held her platter of spider cookies with two of her arms, while hugging Frisk with the rest. “I’m sorry Alphys picked such a dreadful dress for you dearie~ Ahuhuhu~ I hope you’re still enjoying the wedding regardless.”

Frisk chuckled, then nodded. Muffet smiled back. She remembered that at one time she was put off by how quiet Frisk was. It was important to her that they get along, especially on account of Asgore, and she had always assumed Frisk was quiet because they disliked her (apparently when you ty to turn some people into baked goods, they take it rather personally). Eventually, she was able to accept that Frisk was simply a person of few words.

“So, dearie, I know you’ve been busy with the wedding, but have you had a chance to speak to your father yet?” Muffet inquired.

Frisk shook their head. “What is it?”

“Well, he’s been keeping away from everyone the whole reception~’ Worry was creeping into her voice. “It’s not like him to be like this around his friends~ I still have some work I need to do, but perhaps you could speak to him? Tell him that Alphys and Undyne are going to have the first dance, soon? Perhaps tell him that I’ll be watching him to make sure he’s on his best behavior~” she winked.

Frisk nodded. “OK, Aunt Muffet.”

Hearing that still never got old to her. “Thank you, dearie~” she smiled, watching them run off to talk to Asgore. She knew that she still needed to get the rest of the food set out, and she was nothing if not professional, but she wanted to make sure that her Asgore was actually going to get up and involved in the wedding. When he finally got out of his seat to chat with Frisk, she returned to finish bringing out the food. For now, she was satisfied.

As she saw a machine with two metal pads emblazoned with arrows wheeled out onto the floor, she knew it must be time for the happy couple’s first dance. Hurriedly arranging spider macarons for the table, she took a quick glance over her shoulder to see that Asgore had moved closer to the party, and was having a rather spirited conversation with Papyrus. Well, spirited on Papyrus’ end in any case. Either way, she was glad Frisk was able to get him to straighten himself out.

Once the machine was in place, Undyne and Alphys took their place on either pad as loud dance music started playing. Muffet recognized it as something similar to the music that would play in those cartoons Asgore would sometimes invite her over to watch. It was fun and energetic, but she preferred something a bit more classical herself.

Watching Alphys and Undyne, it looked more as though it was some kind of rhythmic stomping than any kind of dance that she had seen before. They weren’t even doing a terribly good job of it either, if the “miss”es that flashed across the screen were any indication. Regardless of their limited dancing abilities, though, what really stood out to Muffet was that the two never stopped holding hands, and only on occasion stopped looking at each other. When the song finally finished, Alphys nearly wheezing from the exertion, Undyne pulled her in to a passionate kiss, the rest of the guests clapping for the both of them.

“Awwww~” Muffet gushed. Any display of sweetness like that was always enough to warm the cockles of her SOUL. After that, the rest of the reception went fairly smoothly. While Muffet didn’t have the most experience catering large events like this, she viewed it no different than a busy day at the bakery, and before long all the baked goods were out and ready to go. Triumphantly hanging up her apron, she immediately scanned the room for Asgore, only to find him right back at his distant table, just watching from a distance.

_Well, this simply won’t do at all~_ Finally finished with her obligations, she had hoped a personal touch would be exactly what he needed. Approaching him from behind, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Why hello, dearie~” As soon as his head was turned, she grabbed him by his head and planted a kiss on his muzzle. “The cake’s been served and the pastries are all out, so I thought I would come see my favorite bridesman~ Even if he appears to be keeping his distance from the party~”

“Keeping my distance? Surely I am not that far apart from everyone else.”

“You’ve been sitting at this table for nearly the entire reception~ Not even Frisk or Papyrus got you to stay out~” She rested a hand on his forearm. “Considering you talked me into catering at a discount, I’d have thought that would be reason enough to be happier~ Ahuhuhu~” Muffet teased.

A slight smile passed Asgore’s lips. “Your discount was one free spider muffin for the entire party.”

“Are you saying that’s not generous of me?” Muffet huffed in mock offence. “We may have to have words about that kind of disrespect ~ Possibly more than just words~”

Asgore just smiled weakly once again and lowered his head. Now she was starting to get more concerned. “Is something wrong, dearie? Usually my threats get more of a reaction out of you than this~” She was typically joking when she directed her threats to Asgore, and at the very least he was usually willing to humor her. It was most certainly out of character for him not to react at all. Placing a hand underneath his chin, she tilted his head to face her.

Whatever it was, she could see in Asgore’s eyes that it was something troubling him quite a bit. He only had that same sort of look about him when he was thinking about some of things that had troubled him from underground. _But why would that be on his mind?_

Finally, he replied. “It is nothing that you need to worry about right now. It’s a happy time, after all.”

For a moment Muffet was quiet. If this was happy time, he was certainly not acting like it. When her eyes wandered over to his table, however, she was struck with an idea. “Asgore, dearie, is that Alphys’ bouquet you caught?”

“Yes, but-“ she held a finger to Asgore’s lips, then motioned for Asgore to stay where he was. _If nothing else, perhaps this would cheer him up,_ she thought as she made her way to the table. Almost immediately, she began rearranging the flowers and weaving them together, each arm working in deliberate, fluid motions. She hummed to herself as she worked, pausing only to consider how big she would need to make it to fit his head (extremely big). Finally, she clasped her hands together as she surveyed her handiwork; a completed flower crown. Excited, she immediately ran back to Asgore.

“Here~” she chirped as she handed it to him.

Asgore examined the flowers. “Oh, this is lovely!” A forced smile crossed his lips. “Um, what is it?”

Muffet giggled. “It’s a flower crown, dearie~ You’re supposed to wear it~ Ahuhuhuhu~”

Asgore slid it onto his head. She was impressed how well it fit him. “How does it look?”

“Very pretty~” Muffet grinned. The sight of her rather large, imposing Asgore wearing a delicate flower crown was quite endearing.

Finally, a genuine smile spread across Asgore’s face. “You certainly are,” he responded, earning yet more giggles from Muffet. “Also, I am still amazed that you enjoy these rather corny little compliments.”

“You aren’t the only one who’s surprised by that, dearie~ Ahuhuhu~” They really were terribly corny, but she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t think they weren’t sweet. Glad to finally have a happier Asgore, she started to tug on his arm. “Now, come on~”

“Come on to where, exactly?” he asked, awkwardly taking a step forward.

“It’s not a wedding without dancing, dearie~ Now if you give me the next dance, I’ll forget about your little comment about my muffins~” She winked.

Asgore laughed, and offered his hand to Muffet. “I would be a fool to turn down a lady like yourself.”

Muffet let Asgore lead her to the dance floor. “You most definitely would, dearie~ Ahuhuhuhu~”

Almost immediately, Muffet found herself impressed at the ease at which Asgore moved. It was clear that he had experience.

“Royal functions have given me a great deal of dancing practice,” he spoke, seeming to sense Muffet’s curiosity. “When you are as large as I am, it is worth it to learn how to move gracefully.”

Muffet giggled in response. “I can see that, dearie~”

“Of course, this is not the full extent of my dancing abilities,” Asgore continued, a sly look in his eye.

“Really? I might need to see some proof of this~”

“Oh, of course,” he grinned. Suddenly, completely out of rhythm with the song, Asgore picked Muffet up by her waist and began twirling with her. Muffet squealed in surprise and delight, which just widened the grin on his face. As the spinning slowed down, Muffet felt herself pulled close, and nuzzled noses with her Asgore. For the next few minutes, the two of them just held each other, swaying to the music. Asgore kept one hand placed on Muffet’s waist, while the other moved behind her, his fingers gently tracing the lace patterns on her back. The only sound that passed between them was her contented sighs.

“You really are quite the dancer~ Muffet murmured, finally breaking the silence. “I hope that cheered you up a little bit, at least~” She looked up at him. “That is, until we can get some time alone over a pot of tea, or whatever else might get you to talk~ You know it’s just awful to keep secrets from your dearest, after all~”

Asgore chuckled. “Of course. I had a feeling that I would not be off the hook so easily.”

“Ahuhuhuhu~ Never, dearie~” she winked. “Just know that I press, cajole, and threaten because I care~” She leaned into his chest and squeezed him as tightly as she could, as though there was no other place she’d rather be. “In your case, a great deal~”

“And in your case, I, well,” he stammered. “I… also… well, care for you a great deal.”

Noticing that his body had become that much more tense, Muffet tilted her head, a concerned expression on her face. “Asgore, dearie? Is everything all right?”

“Oh, um. I am afraid I am not feeling very well. It is likely just too much excitement from today,” he replied, his smile decidedly unconvincing.

“Asgore,” her tone becoming more firm, “you know it’s terribly impolite to keep shutting me out like this~ You should know by now I don’t bite~ Very often~” She giggled in spite of herself.

“I am sorry, dear, but I really am feeling quite sick. Goodness, my stomach feels like I just ate a bowl full of Papyrus’ pasta,” he insisted, his speech become more hurried. “I think I should get some air right now. I will let Alphys and Undyne know that I will just be stepping out for a moment,” he quickly nuzzled Muffet, who was significantly less enthusiastic to return the gesture.

“Dearie, I really don’t appreciate how you’re acting right now~” she spoke lowly. “I understand if it’s personal and you want to talk later, but I’ve no patience for being kept in the dark~

“I know… and I am so sorry to cut out from the wedding like this, but you know, sick,” he laughed uneasily. “I will be back soon,” and with that he made his way over to Alphys and Undyne.

Despite being furious, Muffet kept her composure as she watched him exchange hugs with the couple before leaving outside. She didn’t take being brushed off or dismissed lightly from anyone, let alone someone she was that close to. While she knew there must be a reason for his behavior, that wasn’t going to excuse it. She had certain expectations, and as soon as he came back, wedding or no, they were going to have a serious discussion about things. As far as Asgore was concerned, a potentially painful one.

When an hour passed and he still hadn’t returned, she decided it was time to look for him. He was not at his table, so she made her way to the entryway.

When she found his flower crown on the door knob, she knew then he wasn’t coming back.


	3. A Bad Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore is haunted by his past actions and the impact it's had on his loved ones, but misunderstandings and a very thick skeleton might just lead history to repeat itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is going to be a bit darker than some of the other Undertale stuff I've written before. Without spoiling anything, I had a plan for this fic, but then things just kinda started going in a different direction when I started writing, and I just went with it. I hope you enjoy none the less!

_Asgore stood on a balcony overlooking the ruins. The wind was howling. In his hand, he clutched a human child, dangling them in the air as they attempted to swing their weapon at him. It was pointless; the knife was a mere toy, and the child was only playing at slaying monsters._

_Pathetic._

_For a moment, he felt himself hesitate. This human was only a child. He did not think it was possible that they could have done much harm._

_Then, he forced himself to remember. A grievously wounded Asriel bringing home the body of Chara. His own flesh and blood turning to dust in his arms. The expression of complete and utter anguish on Toriel’s face._

_This steeled his resolve. Their kind had taken so much; the sun, their freedom, and now his children. Who knew what else they were capable of? Humanity needed to pay for their crimes, and it was Asgore’s duty to ensure that they would never hurt another monster again. Child or no, their soul would give him the means to accomplish that goal. After all, what good was a king who could not protect his own people?_

_He looked down at the container beside him before he turned to face the human again. “Child… With your SOUL, we take our first step towards seeing all monsters freed from this prison that you and your ancestors forced us into so many years ago.”_

_“P-please…” the human stammered. I’m so sorry for w-whatever happened…”_

_He glared. “There is no apology that can make right what has been done to us,” he bellowed. “Your kind has proven to us once and for all that you can never be trusted. No matter what happens, you will keep us imprisoned and kill us whenever you have the chance. I will not allow my people to suffer this terror any longer.” The human turned white. “Our hopes and dreams, our freedom, our safety, we will see these realized.” Asgore lowered his head. “I am sorry, but there is no other way. Farewell.”_

_Asgore winced as he plunged his trident right into the human’s heart. Their toy knife fell from their hands, and Asgore slowly lowered the body to the ground. Gently closing the human’s eyes, he tried to look away from the face. This was it; he finally had the first of the souls he would need to wage war against humanity. Still, there was no sense of triumph. If anything, he felt… empty. Laying his hands on the body, he slowly raised a light-blue SOUL out of their body, which he put into the container Alphys had created. As he examined it, ensuring the container was tightly sealed, he heard a horrified gasp from the balcony’s entrance._

_Whipping his head around to look at the source of the sound, his heart sank. It was Toriel._

_Her eyes widened, and her hands were clasped to her mouth in horror. He had never seen her look at him with that expression before. Desperate, Asgore reached out to her. “Torie? I am sorry… I did not mean for you to-“_

_She immediately recoiled. “Do not touch me, Asgore!” She spat. “NEVER touch me again. You… how could you do this? Are you pleased with yourself?” He was taken aback._

_“But don’t you understand? We need these souls to destroy the barrier! Do you not remember what they did to us? To our children?” He pleaded._

_Toriel’s expression remained cold. “How dare you use our children’s deaths as a way to justify what you are doing. Do you truly believe they would think well of this… thing, that you are doing? That you’ve become?” Toriel moved forward, raising her voice. “You say you need to protect monsters from humans, but you are no better than them.” Her glare cut him straight to the bone._

_“Do not say that, Torie. My people are counting on me. They WANT to be free. Isn’t that worth it?”_

_“If that is the case, then your people deserve a ruler like you,” Toriel turned her head away. “I do not wish to hear any more of your justifications. You are a murderer, and I will never call a murderer my husband.”_

_The pain in Asgore’s heart grew sharper. “ Goodbye, Asgore. I hope you will never convince another SOUL that you are a good person.”_

_“Torie! Wait, please! Torie! TORIE!” He begged, his voice echoing throughout the ruins, hoping somehow she would change her mind. But nobody came._

_Still on his kneed, he turned back to the body. He was absolutely nauseated with the gravity of what he had done. Was this truly the price of his plan? Of freedom for monsters? The child… had they been someone else’s Asriel? Someone else’s Chara?_

_Just what sort of monster was he?_

Asgore woke up with a start. This was the third time this week he had had the dream. To say the least, he was getting quite tired of it. Regardless of his frustration, however, there was one thing that would always stick with him.

 _“I hope that you will never convince another SOUL that you are a good person.”_ He played Toriel’s words over in his head, and the reality of them weighed down on him. If he had duped anyone into thinking that he was, then her had most certainly put a stop to that with his performance at the wedding last week.

Work had been fine, if a bit sad, but for the first time in over a year he had missed anime night, and had not made any visits to Muffet’s bakery. It was cowardly, he knew, and he especially missed Muffet, but low seemed to be rather fitting for him.

Turning over to the clock, and seeing that it read 11:00 AM, he realized that sooner or later, he was going to get up. Maybe a bit of tea would help him relax a little bit. Pulling on his robe, he made his way into the kitchen, where he was startled with a loud cry of “Good morning, Asgore!”

Jumping back, Asgore turned his head to find Papyrus sitting at the dinner table. “Goodness, you frightened me!” He sputtered. “How did you even get in here?”

Papyrus winked. “I have my ways of getting around.”

Looking over to the door, the frame was blackened and there was a pile of ashes in the doorway. He wasn’t looking forward to how much that was going to cost to replace. “So what are you even doing here?”

Papyrus gave him an odd look? “Don’t you remember? You wanted the great Papyrus to find out how your friends were doing! I mean, after you kind of left the wedding without telling anyone.”

Asgore sighed. “Right, I remember,” he moved to fill the kettle up with hot water. “So, were you able to find anything out? Are Alphys and Undyne still angry with me?”

“Alphys understands, but Undyne is still really angry! She said the next time that she saw you, she was going to find a way to bend you over and shove you horns-first… um… well…” Papyrus trailed off nervously. “It’d be more polite if I didn’t repeat it. Not to mention I’m not sure how what she threatened would even be physically possible.”

Asgore didn’t blame her. He had been asked to play such an important role, and he had abandoned his friends simply because he could not deal with his own awkward feelings. “I understand,” he finally responded, putting the water on to boil. “I am making earl grey, would you like any?” he asked Papyrus, who shook his head in response. _Now comes the difficult one._ “I do not suppose you had a chance to stop by Muffet’s bakery to see how she has been doing.”

“Well she seemed pretty normal to me when I dropped in,” Papyrus explained. Asgore let out a huge sigh of relief. “As soon as I mentioned you and the wedding, though, she just giggled and said she hadn’t had a chance to speak with you yet, but it’d be fine. It wasn’t the happy giggle, though! It was that really scary giggle I’ve seen her do sometimes to customers! I didn’t stay very long after that.”

Asgore shuddered. He knew exactly what Papyrus was talking about, and “I see. Thank you for seeing her for me anyways.”

“It’s the least I could do! With both Undyne and Muffet so angry at you, I’m surprised you’re still alive! I would be REALLY scared if I were you!”

Asgore rubbed his head. “Trust me, Papyrus, I am very aware of my situation.”

“What even happened to make you run off, anyways? You still haven’t told me, and I’m the one you can trust with anything!”

Asgore fought the urge to break out in laughter at the idea that Papyrus would show any sort of discretion. “It is not that important, truthfully, but if you must know, do you remember how I told you that I was starting to feel uncomfortable at the reception?”

“Yeah, but why?” Papyrus asked. “It was such a beautiful day! How could that possibly make you feel uncomfortable?” He threw his hands up. “Besides the tie. That was just terrible!”

“It is a long story, Papyrus,” Asgore spoke as he fumbled around in the cupboard for a clean mug. The dishes had been one of many things he had started to go. “If I were to give you the short version, I would say that there were a number of reminders that day that I am actually very bad at this whole relationship thing. My track record is rather abysmal, after all,”

“Your… track record?” Papyrus looked at him suspiciously.

“Well, yes,” Asgore poured himself a cup of tea, spilling a fair bit of it on the floor. “You know how things ended with Toriel, yes?”

Papyrus gave him a strange look. “Just where are you going with this?”

Asgore took a sip of the bitter, over-steeped tea, and breathed in before continuing. “While I was at the wedding, I saw Toriel… and Sans together. It was more difficult than I anticipated. It reminded me that-“

He was cut off by Papyrus’ gasp. “Asgore! How could you?!”

An uncomfortable expression grew on Asgore’s face. “I do not think I know what you are talking about.”

“Nyeh! Don’t think you can hide the truth from the Great Papyrus! Getting ‘reminded’ of something when you see her again? It couldn’t be any more obvious!” He pointed at Asgore. “This whole time you were with Muffet, and you still were thinking about Toriel? That’s so cruel!”

Asgore sprayed his tea all over the counter. “What? No! That is not what is happening Papyrus! I, I…” there was a moment’s hesitation as he thought how to phrase it. “I care quite a bit for Muffet. I would not do such a thing to her.”

“And then there’s my brother!” Papyrus continued ranting. “My brother might be lazy and have a terrible sense of humor, but he deserves far better than you planning to sabotage his relationship! Didn’t think I’d discover that part of your plan, did you?”

“Papyrus!” Asgore shouted. “There’s no plan here!”

“Don’t tell me nothing was going to happen! You just told me you were thinking about Toriel, and that’s why you left!” He leapt from his seat, and started towards the doorway. “Sorry, Asgore, you might be my friend, but so are Sans, Toriel, and Muffet, and they deserve to know!”

“NO!” He bellowed. “This is all a misunderstanding!” Even as he pleaded, though, he knew that it was ultimately futile. No matter what happened, he was not going to be able to deter Papyrus. Once he was set on something, that was usually the end of it, and there was no way to get him to change his course. Watching him storm out of his apartment, he was not certain how he would ever get out of the hole he had dug himself into. Who did he even have to turn to? He somehow even managed to alienate Papyrus of all people. Frisk was often quite insightful about things, but it would hardly be responsible parenting to involve Frisk in his guilt over the past, and his love life.

Then it struck him.

\---

Muffet blinked each of her eyes in turn. If what Papyrus was saying was true, she wasn’t even necessarily sure how she could react to that. It would certainly explain the way he had acted towards her, but it also meant that after well over a year of tea, nuzzles, and falling for him, that there really hadn’t been a point to it at all, and there was absolutely nothing that she would be able to do about it.

She had always been used to getting her way, and being in a situation where all she could do was react was unfamiliar to her. Unsettling. Hurtful.

Very hurtful.

Papyrus’ voice cut through her thoughts. “Um, Muffet? Is everything okay? You haven’t even done the scary laugh yet, and that’s somehow even scarier!”

She snapped back to attention with a bit of a start. “Why yes, dearie~ I’m just thinking~” She put on the best smile that she was capable of. “I appreciate you letting me know~ I shall have to discuss things with Asgore once I have a moment~”

“C-could you try not to hurt him too badly?” Papyrus pleaded. “He might be up to the sneaky, not fun sort of japes right now, but he is still my friend.”

Muffet giggled. “Of course dearie~ He’ll still be in one piece~ Most likely, anyways~ Ahuhuhu~” Muffet was not actually sure she’d be able to live up to the promise. She wasn’t actually sure she cared to, either.

“Well that’s a relief! I have to go let Toriel and Sans know now. If the great Papyrus had a middle name, you can bet it would be ‘honesty!’ Again, I’m sorry I had to tell you that.”

“Not a problem at all, dearie~ Have a lovely day~” She managed to keep her smile up as long as Papyrus was still in the bakery. It had already been bad enough that he did not ever speak or apologize to her after the wedding, but to hear that the entire time his thoughts had been elsewhere…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door chime. “Howdy, Muffet,” a familiar voice called out meekly.

Muffet snapped her head up to see Asgore standing in the doorway, a hand behind his back. Part of her wanted to feed him to Cupcake right away. Another part of her wanted to know what he could possibly say that might explain himself after Papyrus’ revelation. Another part just wanted him to leave her alone, and never bother her again.

“We’re closed, dearie~” She responded, her usual sing-song voice straining to stay even. “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow if you want any goods~ The ones we have left have all gone stale, I’m afraid~”

“I was actually not looking to buy anything today. I know that you usually don’t approve of people who just come in to loiter-“

“That’s right, dearie~” Muffet cut him off. “So why are you still here?”

Asgore was struck speechless for a moment. “I brought you some more golden flowers,” he smiled, pulling a handful from behind his back. “I remembered that the flowers on your counter were starting to look quite dried out, and thought you might appreciate a new replacement.”

Muffet tilted her head. “I appreciate the thought dearie, but shouldn’t you be saving these for someone else?” Her tone grew sharper with every word she spoke. “I’d hate to get in the way~”

Asgore’s head fell. “Papyrus told you what he thought was happening then, I suppose.”

“Well yes, someone had to~” Muffet replied coldly. “It certainly does explain how you’ve been acting towards me~”

“Papyrus was wrong, you know. I tried to explain to him what was happening, but he had already become so convinced of what he thought was happening. I promise you that I have not been thinking of anyone else. The situation is a bit more complicated.”

Muffet giggled humorlessly. “Ahuhuhuhu~ Oh dearie~ I didn’t become so successful by being stupid, you know~ You were troubled the entire night, and when I tried to tell you how much I cared for you, it was that very moment that you chose to leave~” Asgore’s mouth hung open as he tried to formulate words. “I know that your feelings are what they are, and that’s one thing I can’t simply change by threatening~ You should never have let me believe otherwise, though, dearie             ~”

“Muffet, I am aware of how bad this looks, but I please. I am sorry...” he reached out to take her arm. “I did not mean to-“

Muffet pulled back, and glared at him. “Try to touch me again, and I’ll keep that arm, dearie~ Do you actually think that I’m supposed to believe you?”

“Please, just listen to me!” Asgore pleaded. “I will admit it had been somewhat difficult for me at first, but that is in the past. You need to know that I truly do... well…. I care for you,” Asgore continued, the awkward silence in his speech ringing in Muffet’s ears. “I do not have any intentions on anyone else. The ceremony simply reminded me that I have not always done so well in these relationships. I had driven Toriel away many years ago, and I was starting to worry that I might do the same to you one day. I know I had let my friends down, and you as well,” Asgore’s breath hitched. “I wish to make this right.”

Muffet’s breathing had grown heavy. The tension in her shoulders was beginning to ache terribly, and the terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach was only growing worse and worse. Still, she remained in control. If that was the only thing she had left here, then she was _not_ going to let that go so easily. “If that’s true, dearie~” She started, voice quivering. “Why did you take so long to tell me? Why did you only come here when you were certain Papyrus was already coming to speak with me?”

The look on Asgore’s face was one of anguish. Part of her took some satisfaction in seeing the expression, another part could not bear to look. “Please… Muffet. I need you to understand that this is not how it appears. This is simply a mistake on my behalf. I am not truly irredeemable because of this mistake, am I?”

“It depends~ Why should I trust that this was just a mistake?”

“Because I,” he paused. “Because I, l…” he never finished the sentence. His shoulders slumped, and his gaze was cast downward.

“Dearie,” Muffet’s voice was barely above a whisper now. “It’s rude to overstay your welcome. I think that you should go now.”

Asgore nodded, leaving the flowers on the counter before turning to leave. Muffet’s breath was ragged as she watched him leave. When he was certain he had left, she picked up the flowers. Their hue was just as brilliant as the very first bouquet he had ever given her, and their scent just as sweet. Turning them over in her hands, she remembered when he first approached her as more than just a friend, and how her heart fluttered. She had been worried he would never get the hint.

What did that even all mean now?

When she was absolutely certain she was alone, she finally broke down and cried.


	4. The Next Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their fight, neither Asgore or Muffet are doing particularly well. Unfortunately, the respective responsibilities of parenthood and running a business aren't going to take a break for them, even if they get a bit of support on the way.

Asgore fought to keep his eyes shut for as long as he could. He hoped that if he tried hard enough, he might be able to go back to sleep, skip the rest of the day, and not think about how absolutely terrible he felt. He was exhausted. He had no idea how late it was last night when he had finally drifted off, since nearly everything after that fateful meeting was a blur. On top of all that, his head ached, his mouth was dry, and his heart felt like someone had torn it from his chest.

_You are a fool, Asgore. A damned fool._

Asgore was used to the voice in the back of his head that dogged him with putdowns and harmful thoughts, but he had slowly learned how to quiet it, to prove he was not so awful as he sometimes thought he was. This time was different, because he knew his thoughts were absolutely correct. Certainly, he could blame Papyrus for his situation. After all, his “creative” interpretation of what was happening with Asgore didn’t help things in the slightest, but he should have acted sooner. Should not have let Muffet go for so long wondering what had been happening with him. Should have had a better handle on his emotions so there would be no need to leave her in the first place.

_No, this burden falls on my shoulders alone._

Turning in to face the couch, he pulled the blanket over his head, hoping to block as much light as possible. Hoping to sink in and just not emerge. Perhaps he had been right all along, and he truly was fated to drive the people he cared about away with his thoughtlessness. Perhaps-

“uh, wow. you’re not looking so good there buddy.”

Asgore groaned and buried his head further in. He couldn’t recognize the voice, and really didn’t care. Whoever the guest he had was could come back another time. All he wanted to do right now was go back to sleep.

“Dad?”

That was a voice Asgore couldn’t ignore, as rotten as he felt. Letting out a loud sigh, he rolled over and poked his head out from the blanket. The sunlight in the room stung his eyes and made his headache feel even worse. Once his eyes began to adjust to the light, he saw both Frisk and Sans standing over him, a look of concern on Frisk’s face, and Sans wearing his usual lazy grin..

Asgore winced, and attempted to feign the most cheerful voice he could. “Oh, howdy Frisk!” He greeted as he sat up on the couch, keeping the blanket wrapped around him.“And um, howdy Sans!”

Frisk took a moment to scan the living room, which was littered with used tissues and other trash. They gave Asgore an inquisitive look. “Oh, do not mind the mess, child. I am simply dealing with a cold.”

Frisk, rolling their eyes, clearly did not believe him.

“you know, not that it’s any of my business, but you might want to try being a bit less obvious with the whole lying thing,” Sans winked. It then hit Asgore that if Papyrus had already told Muffet, then he had almost certainly told Sans and Toriel as well. While he was aware that the issue was not Papyrus’ fault, he would have to have some words with him…

“Can I ask what brings you here, Sans?” Asgore asked.

“just dropping the kid off, thought i’d come up while i did.” There was an awkward pause for a moment, when Sans started digging around in his pocket. “hey, Frisk, wanna run down to grillby’s and grab some lunch for us? three burgers to go, extra ketchup on mine.” _Was it lunch time already?_

Frisk shook their head in response, before moving to sit beside Asgore. He had no idea how much Frisk knew about what had happened, but it was clear to him that they didn’t have any intentions of being sent off without answers. Having his child next to him was a great comfort, though. Regardless of what else had happened, he wasn’t yet horrible enough to drive Frisk away.

“or stay. i guess that works too,” Sans shrugged. “so uh, i know we’re supposed to be cool and everything now, but i heard you got a thing for my girlfriend?”

Frisk gave Asgore a puzzled look, while Asgore cast his gaze downward. “What exactly did your brother tell you?” He grumbled.

“hey, don’t be like that,” Sans held up his hands. “just making a little bit of a joke. i know my bro has a little bit of a flair for the dramatic, so, i thought I’d get the real story,” another awkward pause passing between them. “so-“

Frisk held up their hand to cut Sans off for a moment. “Dad, what’s going on?”

“oh, right, i don’t think the kid knows the full story,”

“Child, Muffet and I are…” he swallowed, breath hitching. “She is very angry with me right now. Papyrus created something of a misunderstanding, but I have been a bad partner, and shut her out.”

Frisk nodded, and hugged Asgore. He returned the gesture. _I hope I will always have you at least, my child._

“so papyrus was pretty much wrong about the whole thing?” Sans asked. “i mean it’s not like that’s not believable.”

Asgore nodded. “That is right. If he had only listened to me he would have realized what I was actually saying.”

“oh, cool,” Sans shuffled in place. “so, if i can ask, what were you actually saying?”

Asgore sighed. “I was trying to explain to him that when I saw you and Toriel together at the wedding, it was more difficult for me than it usually is.”

“sorry to interrupt, but that’s not exactly helping the whole idea that you don’t have a bone to pick with me.”

Frisk and Asgore shared an exasperated sigh before Asgore continued. “It is not what you think. I have accepted long ago that the time for Toriel and I has finished. Ever since we came to the surface, I knew that there was no getting around the things that I had done while I was underground. I know that I had made her disgusted with me, and drove her away for good. It was not easy, but I accepted it. Truly, I did.” Frisk patted his back reassuringly as he spoke.

Sans nodded. “so, why’d it bug you so much to see us at the wedding?”

“Because the occasion, seeing you two, Papyrus and Undyne making comments about how badly I failed Toriel, it had just reminded me that I am far from the best person for anyone to be with. I do not know that I even deserve it.”

Sans looked from side to side. “i thought your spider lady didn’t really have much of a problem with the whole murder thing? did she suddenly forget that she tried to kill frisk too, or is she just _spinning_ her wheels about you two?” There was a moment of silence. “sorry buddy, spider puns are kinda sticky.”

“No, she has not changed so dramatically or anything like that.” Asgore stroked his beard, the pun going right over his head. “Though considering I have not been fed to her pet, perhaps she has.”

“well, from what i can see from this lady, sounds like if she doesn’t have you torn to shreds, she probably still likes you,” Sans shrugged.

Frisk nodded. “Yeah, Aunt Muffet gets sort of murdery when she’s angry.”

Sans coughed. “so, uh, in any case, i’m still not really understanding what’s the big deal here with T and i being, y’know, a couple.”

“Because of late, I have begun to realize I have stronger feelings for her than I thought,” Asgore explained, still trying to work his way around the crux of the matter. “Seeing you two on what should have been such a happy day made me remember that I had ruined things so badly the last time I did something like this, and I became fearful.”

Sans looked like he was taking a moment to consider what to say. “y’know, buddy, i think i get it. does Muffet know you, uh, _really_ like her?”

Asgore emphatically shook his head. “She does not. Truthfully, I have not wanted to acknowledge it myself. I worry that if that were truly the case, then it would be inevitable that I would do something terribly wrong to her.”

Frisk buried their face in their palm in frustration, and Sans appeared to be unmoved. “yeah, that’s actually kind of dumb.”

Asgore’s head snapped up. “I beg your pardon?”

“you’re worried that since you really like this girl, you’ll do something to drive her off. so to stop that from happening, you decide not to acknowledge how much you like her, which drives her off. got to say, that sounds like some pretty boneheaded logic to me,” Sans winked as a rimshot sounded.

Aggravation crept into Asgore’s voice. “It is far more complicated than that. It is different because… well…”

He paused for a moment. It really was more complicated than that, right? Sans must be oversimplifying the whole thing. It needed to be that complicated. If after all that it really was that simple, what did it say about him that he didn’t realize it? What did it say about him that he had pushed Muffet away if the solution was so obvious? “It does not matter if it is different or not!” He snapped. “Things have truly been ruined between her and I, because that is what I do.”

A silence fell over the room. Asgore glanced to his side to see Frisk looking at them, a concerned look on their face. He felt embarrassed by his outburst, especially as it was right in front of Frisk, but he was far too tired and emotionally drained to hold himself back.

A few awkward moments of silence later, Sans shrugged. “well, uh, i’m gonna go to grillby’s now. i’ll tell T that things are fine. it’s pretty obvious you’re not interested in her,” he headed to the door, giving a quick wave. “c’ya.”

Asgore exhaled once Sans left. At the very least he wouldn’t have to worry about Toriel. If only everything else could be resolved that easily, though. He wanted to go back to sleep, forget about everything, and stop feeling this ache in his heart for a while at least. It wasn’t an option, though. Not with Frisk here.

“I am sorry about all this, child. I did not mean to bring you into it. I have just been having a difficult time.”

Frisk nodded, and patted Asgore’s forearm reassuringly. “Do you want to get lunch, dad?”

Asgore sighed. He absolutely didn’t feel like cooking, and the idea of going out right now seemed like a terrible chore. The last thing his headache needed was the sounds of downtown and more sunlight. Still, Frisk had reminded him he really had slept quite late, and they must be very hungry.

“We can,” he spoke softly. “I have heard there is a coffee shop near here that sells sandwiches as well.”

Frisk cocked an eyebrow. “Coffee?”

“Yes, coffee. Is there something wrong?”

Frisk shook their head.

\---  
Muffet was grateful for how busy the bakery had gotten. It gave her something to focus on. At the front of the store there was no shortage of customers to be served, dishes to be washed, and displays to arrange. The profits from these busy times also helped to buoy her spirits somewhat. The hard part was keeping up her smile when she felt like doing anything but. If she were being truly honest with herself, she probably wasn’t even done crying yet. The pain of not only losing, but having never had Asgore in the first place was still fresh. She wouldn’t let that slow her down no matter how much it hurt, but having to keep up the façade was hard work.

In spite of that, she found some respite whenever she found some excuse to dip into the back to check to see how one of the new batches were coming, check the ovens, or see if the spiders working there needed any assistance. She still forced herself to keep going, but at the very least she didn’t have to pretend when she wasn’t in front of the customers, and could let the phony smile drop from her face.

She stopped to see how a group of spiders operating a mixer were doing. “Hello dearies~ Is that for the spider cinnamon buns?” A strange scratching sound was the only response. “Oh, excellent~ I do hope they’ll be a success~” she continued flatly. Another, lower scratching sound arose from the spiders. “If I’m being honest dearies, I’m feeling quite dreadful today~” she sighed. “Things have gone very badly with my A… with the old king~”

Understanding immediately, the spiders pushed the mixer to the side, offering a spot on the counter for Muffet to hop up and sit. Another group of spiders moved out to the front of the store to start taking customer orders. She had hoped the humans would be used to the shop enough by now to understand there was no need for concern. One of the others on the counter began chattering to her.

“I know, dearie~ I was under the impression he was quite the gentleman too, but the entire time he was with me, his eyes were always on someone else~” She propped her head up on two of her hands, as the spiders reassuringly ran up and down her arm. “That’s truly the most difficult thing~ He had gone from being a good customer to a good friend to so much more to me, but I was never anything more than,” she took a deep breath to steady herself. “Anything more than a diversion~ I know few people care much for spiders, dearies, but I wish he at least didn’t lead me to believe he did~” Despite her best efforts, she had begun sniffling. Some spiders came by with a box of tissues, while others brought her a cup of tea. She took them both with her free hands. “Thank you, dearies~” she smiled weakly, dabbing at her eyes.

After blowing her nose and taking a sip, more noises emerged from the gathered crowd. “Why yes, I’m absolutely certain, dearie~ Papyrus told me, and while he might be a little bit odd, he’s never been dishonest~” Her voice lowered. “Not to mention Asgore only tried to deny it when he was certain his little secret was out~” She wasn’t certain if she was angrier at Asgore for lying to her, or herself for falling for it, but even thinking about it was enough to upset her all over again. She felt frustration creep in as her eyes started to well up again, reaching for more tissues.

“No, dearie~ I appreciate the thought, but it’s good for me to stay busy right now~ Ahuhuhu~” She giggled humorlessly before taking another drink. She knew that her friends and family were only trying to help, and she didn’t want to leave them completely in the dark about what she was going through, but if she kept on it would just be harder and harder to keep her composure.

_Serve the customers. Manage the business. Keep control._

With that, Muffet slid down from the counter. “Thank you so much for listening, dearies! I’m so lucky to have you all~” Her smile was a bit more genuine this time as she blew a kiss to the other spiders. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out to the front again, feeling prepared to at least make it through the rest of the work day.

As soon as she made her way to the counter, though, she caught sight of a customer swinging a rolled-up newspaper violently down at the counter, the spider managing things attempting to scurry away as quickly as they could. She had to intervene, quickly.

“Stop!” She blurted as she moved toward the customer, their eyes looking up at her in shock. “That spider is one of my employees, dearie~ They just wanted to take your order~”

“You kidding me?” The customer asked, dumbfounded. “Since when do spiders take orders? That’s disgusting! I mean, you’re pretty freaky, but at least you’re like, not totally spider, so that’s something.”

“Mind your manners, dearie~” Muffet warned. “My patience is quite thin today.”

“Geeze, it was supposed to be a compliment!” The customer insisted. “Forget this, I’ll go to some place without all you freaks.”

When someone was being stingy, aggressive, or just plain rude, Muffet always kept her composure, even if their behavior ended up needing more active correction. After all, one should always model proper behavior if they want others to follow it. Today was no ordinary set of circumstances, though, and she lacked the desire and ability to keep things civilized. With no warning other than a glare, she conjured a web to trap him as spiders began pouring from the kitchen to bite at him. The dining area cleared out almost immediately, frightened people and monsters making their way to the doors as quickly as they could.

Muffet poured herself a cup of her special purple tea, the rude customer screaming and cursing her in the background. “You were warned, dearie~ Now are you sorry, or do we need to take this further?”

Satisfied when the customer sputtered out an apology, she gestured for the spiders to release him and drank the tea herself. “You can get out, now~” She waved her hand dismissively, the man running out as quickly as he could. She surveyed the bakery, which had completely emptied out, a number of customers not even remembering to pay in their panic.

The terrible question of whether she had meant anything at all wasn’t going to be avoided today after all.


	5. Family Meetings and Evening Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With things still awkward, Frisk does their best to smooth things over between Muffet and Asgore. What happens when they finally meet up again, though? That's up to them.

It had been a fairly quiet week down at the bakery. When you’re the type of monster that a lot of humans tend to dislike, publicly attacking one of your customers wasn’t the best business move. Muffet hoped that this was merely a temporary disruption; people usually bought her goods when they found their way into her bakery (whether they wanted to or not), but for that to work she needed them to actually come in.

She loaded up the last of some spider macarons onto a cart being pulled along by a group of her cousins. She had been toying with the idea of expanding her operations for some time now, and while she had two locations, delivery and street food was certainly worth experimenting with. She couldn’t just stay in the same place, after all. A good businesswoman always needs to be moving forward.

“Now dearies, make sure you’re careful at the crosswalks and that you’re always nice to the customers~” She smiled. “If there are some humans who are being especially rude, you’re just outside Undyne’s apartment, and she promised to keep her good eye on you~ Ahuhuhu~”

One of the spiders climbed up to the top of the wagon before making a strange squeaking sound. “I hope so too, dearie, but you know how it is for us on the surface~” The expression on her face grew more concerned. “Whether you think you need it or not, I’m always going to look out for my family~”

A soft scratching sound came from the wagon again. “Thank you, dearie~ Bring home as much as you can!” She winked. With that, the wagon slowly made its way out of the bakery. She immediately thought that she should have been going with the wagon herself, or sending one of her human employees to go with them, but she tried to assure herself they would be safe.

She found herself thinking that a certain someone might been able to help them, but pushed it out of her mind. There would be no chance of that happening as far as she was concerned.

Muffet moved back towards the counter, when she heard the chime at the door. She turned around to find Frisk and a very nervous Papyrus standing in front of her. She was a bit awestruck. She had fully expected to see Papyrus again at some point, but Frisk? She’d taken quite the liking to them over the course of her relationship with Asgore, but she had no idea what their father had told them. It cast a sense of uneasiness over the whole thing.

“Oh! Hello, dearies~” Muffet chirped, trying to keep things as cheerful as she could.

Frisk smiled in response, while Papyrus took a while to manage a shaky “Hello.”

“It’s very good to see the both of you, but I must admit I’m a little bit surprised to see you here~” she tilted her head. “A very pleasant surprise, though, ahuhuhu~ May I get you something?”

Frisk nodded, and started pointing at the spider cinnamon buns.

“J-just a spider cider for me!” Papyrus blurted out. “I could use the drink, it’s starting to get really warm in here…”

Muffet hurried behind the counter and began preparing the snacks, but kept looking back to Papyrus. “Are you doing all right, Papyrus, dearie? It seems like something is bothering you~’

Papyrus was a bit startled at Muffet’s observation. “Nyeh! I can tell you for sure that whatever’s bothering me is definitely NOT something! Not that anything is bothering me at all! Aside from how warm you’re keeping this place…”

She caught a glimpse of Frisk glaring at Papyrus, which seemed to lead to a change in his attitude. “Well, um, actually Muffet…” he grinned uneasily. “There was something very important that I needed to tell you.”

Frisk patted Papyrus on the arm, and offered him an encouraging smile. Muffet was confused by the whole thing, looking up from putting the last bit of frosting on the bun. “Well, dearie, what did you need to tell me?”

“W-well, you know how a week ago I told you some very not nice things that Asgore had been doing?” His teeth were chattering. “I might also have said something about him being after Toriel the whole time. Unless of course you don’t remember, in which case I’m not sure what I’m talking about?”

Muffet raised an eyebrow. “I do remember that, dearie~ What exactly is going on? I wouldn’t think he suddenly decided to become an honest man~” _Or that I could even trust him if he did._

Frisk looked up at Papyrus, and nodded. “Well, you see, I might have been just the tiniest bit hasty in telling you that. Because I know Asgore so well, when he started talking to me about the wedding and everything, I just assumed that I knew what he was going to say, and that he was up to no good! Unfortunately, it turns out that even the great Papyrus makes mistakes sometimes.”

Muffet nearly dropped Papyrus’ spider cider, but managed to catch it with one of her lower hands. “Did I just hear you correctly, dearie? There was a mistake?”

“Well, yes!” He blurted out, talking faster as he went on. “It turns out that he may not have actually been trying to win back Toriel while the two of you together, and you know this actually really shows what a good friend I am to the both of you because I really wanted him to realize what he was doing was wrong, and I wanted you to know the truth, even if I was wrong about the truth, but I actually believed it and-“

“Papyrus, that’s enough, dearie~” Muffet spoke firmly. Just when she thought she had settled herself down, here came Papyrus to turn everything on its head once again. She was furious. Furious with Asgore for being so dishonest in the first place that she couldn’t trust him, furious with herself for not believing his chance to explain, and furious with Papyrus for opening his mouth when he actually had no idea what was going on. “I’ll be very generous with you right now dearie, and ask you to leave~” A sinister smile spreading across her face. “Unless you want to play with my pet~ He’s been a bit lonely, you know~ Ahuhuhu~”

“NYEH! The great Papyrus makes his escape!” He announced, fleeing from the shop as quickly as he could.

Muffet knew that Frisk was still there, and that they were making a purchase, but she still found herself overwhelmed. An entire week of questioning whether or not she meant anything at all to Asgore, and it had all been for nothing. The result of a stupid misunderstanding. The thought that he may very well have been _her_ Asgore all along was both comforting and troubling. Not that it even mattered, because after the last time the two of them met, she’d made very clear to Asgore that she wanted nothing to do with him. The whole thing was-

“Aunt Muffet?” Frisk called out, snapping her back to attention. She had no idea how long she was lost in her thoughts.

“Sorry, dearie~” she smiled, warmed by the fact that Frisk still held her in such high regard. “What Papyrus told me was a bit… overwhelming.” A pause fell between the two of them. “Was it you who put him up to this?”

Frisk nodded. “It was true, though,” they explained, pulling out chairs for the both of them. Muffet nodded, and brought the cinnamon buns over, taking a seat across from Frisk.

“I see, dearie~” she sighed. “I am very sorry that you had to be brought into our problems~”

Frisk shook their head, and held their hands up in protest, before biting in to their cinnamon bun. Muffet delighted in seeing their expression brighten at the first taste. She also delighted in the possibility that she might get a good tip for it as well.

“Well, regardless, I appreciate you bringing Papyrus in line, but what’s happened between your father and I is done with~” She cast her gaze downward. While part of her truly wanted to, she thought the whole thing might be beyond fixing. “This isn’t something you need to concern yourself with~”

Frisk again shook their head, looking a bit more frustrated. “It is, Aunt Muffet.”

“Why are you still calling me that, dearie?”

Frisk stared at her a moment, before flopping their head down on the table. She wasn’t sure if this was some new strange human behavior or not. If so, she was certain she would have seen it before given the time that she spend with Frisk. For some reason though, it made her feel guilty about her previous comment, as though she had said completely the wrong thing to them.

“I’m sorry, dearie~” She spoke, tousling Frisk’s hair. Their expression was still flat when the brought their head up. “You don’t think there’s still a chance to make this whole thing right, do you?”

Frisk nodded emphatically. “Talk to him.”

Muffet pulled her phone out from her apron’s pocket, grateful she hadn’t gotten around to deleting his number yet. She texted only a brief message: “Tea at six next week?”

Almost immediately, there was a response: “I will be there at six.”

\--

Muffet flipped the sign in the door to say closed, and immediately began sweeping up. Business was slowly starting to recover; it was much easier to hurt a good reputation than rebuild a bad one. She looked over at the clock, which was only about a minute away from six o’clock. She had closed a bit early in preparation for her meeting with Asgore, but still wondered if he would even show up, let alone be on time.

As she finished wiping the tables, she reminded herself about what she needed. She needed to apologize for her hastiness, but Asgore still had to answer for his dishonesty, no matter what else happened. Hearing the chime, she looked up to see him passing through the door.

An awkward silence passed after Asgore entered. Feelings of happiness at seeing him again and anger and his stupidity and silence nearly overwhelmed Muffet. She tried not to pay too much attention to the look Asgore was giving her.

“Howdy, Muffet,” he finally broke the silence. “Lovely day we’re having!”

“Hello dearie~” she replied, a slight smile on her face. “It is~” Another awkward pause. “I see you’re as punctual as ever~”

Asgore returned the smile. “Of course. I did want to make sure I got that right, at least.”

Muffet chuckled softly. “That you did, ahuhuhu~ Is chai okay?”

Asgore pulled out a chair for Muffet, gesturing her to come out from behind the counter. “Chai sounds wonderful.” Picking up two teapots, two cups, and two pitchers of spider milk, she prepared the tea as she walked over to take a seat, sliding one of the teacups over towards Asgore’s side of the table. She felt his fingers linger on her shoulder a moment as he pushed the chair back in, and sighed.

_Remember, misunderstanding or no, he still has a lot to answer for._

As soon as he sat down, Asgore immediately took a long sip of his, closing his eyes as he drank. Muffet blinked. She knew she was quite good at making tea, but it never got this sort of reaction from him usually.

“Oh, it has simply been a while since I have had a good cup of tea,” he explained. He must have noticed that she was looking at him rather strangely. “For a while I attempted to start drinking coffee. It was not a very easy or pleasant adjustment, to say the least. I became rather twitchy, which is not good when you are pruning a particularly delicate flower.”

Muffet giggled, and took a drink of her own. Tea was always best enjoyed with company, and while she might not have done anything so abhorrent as switching to coffee, the taste was almost like coming home. “I’m certain of that, dearie, ahuhuhu~ You haven’t completely ruined your garden, have you?”

Asgore shook his head. “No, that is the one thing I am good enough at that a few jitters cannot stop me,” he took another long drink, smiling as the cup reached his lips. “On a somewhat related subject, the students in my gardening class have been greatly missing your spider donuts. I know you have closed for the day, but is there any possibility that I could purchase two dozen for tomorrow?”

Muffet knew she was getting that look in her eye. Asgore knew her all too well. “Of course, dearie! As long as you don’t mind a convenience charge for me working after hours, ahuhuhuhu~” She winked. “I think another dollar per donut sounds about fair~”

He nodded. “That does sound fair. No need to rush getting them, we can get them when I leave,” he replied, sliding the money over with a very generous tip. Muffet clasped her hands together in delight as she counted it.

“You know, dearie, I’m not certain what I liked more about you; that you’re such a gentleman, or the fact that you’re so very generous, ahuhuhu~”

“As I recall, I am also a very supportive listener,” he paused. “Even if I am not that good a communicator myself.”

Muffet nodded. It was time to finally address the large, floppy, grey animal from human zoos in the room. “As I’m sure you know, Papyrus told me everything,” she sighed. “I’m sorry I jumped to such a conclusion, especially knowing how prone he is to exaggeration.”

Asgore held up his hand. “You have nothing to apologize for, Muffet. Still, I do want you to know that Toriel and I have been finished for a very long time now,” he moved his hand closer to hers, but seemed to hesitate. “Whatever you might think of me now, you were never a mere placeholder.”

Muffet swallowed, and took a moment to consider her response. “I’ll admit I’m relieved that you really haven’t been thinking about Toriel all this time~” She looked down into her teacup. “You didn’t give me much reason to believe you though, dearie~”

“I understand,” Asgore spoke softly, absentmindedly stirring what was left of his tea. “I am sorry for that. I will not waste your time with excuses. I was awful to Alphys, Undyne, and especially to you. I should have simply been honest with you, and should have done so much sooner than I did.”

Muffet smiled slightly, and tilted her head. “You definitely should have dearie~ After all, When have I ever given you reason to not be honest with me?”

“Well, there was the time where I took a spider donut when you were not looking. I felt you would not miss just one, but you were very frightening when you were trying to find out who took it!” Asgore chuckled.

Muffet cocked an eyebrow. “Excuse me dearie~ Did you just admit to stealing from me?” A menacing grin spread across her face. “Oh my, you do know what that means, don’t you?”

“Wait,” Asgore protested. “I am only joking! I do not wish to be devoured by a giant cupcake any time soon.

“Oh~” Muffet felt herself calm down almost as quickly as she started. “I suppose I ended up proving you right, didn’t I? Ahuhuhu~”

Asgore grinned. “I suppose that you did. Still, hearing your laugh again is a far better prize than being right is.”

Muffet felt a fluttering in her chest despite herself, and leaned in closer. “I hope you don’t plan to get too accustomed to the latter, since we know I tend to be right about most things~ Ahuhuhuhu~”

“You are indeed,” Asgore responding, moving to lean in himself. Only a few inches separated them now, and Muffet had become very aware of how the distance had closed. “You are right though, that I need to always be truthful with you. Which is why…” Asgore took a deep breath, and Muffet felt a feeling of dread growing in the back of her mind. She didn’t know that she had the patience to deal with any more of Asgore’s hesitance.

“Which is why I want to be completely honest about why I left at the wedding,” he spoke, finally moving to take one of Muffet’s hands in his. She gripped it tightly. “Being reminded of what had happened in my last love made me frightened to acknowledge something very important, because I was afraid I would just be doomed to repeat the same mistakes I made before. In being afraid I would drive you away, that is what I did,” he smiled sheepishly. “It was, as a friend described, pretty dumb.”

“Extremely dumb~” Muffet chirped as she took a long sip of her tea.

Asgore chuckled, and nodded. “Truly though, Muffet, the reason I had become so frightened was because I had come to realize you meant more to me than I once thought. You had become just as dear, just as treasured as any love I ever had in the past. The idea of losing you became far more horrible than it ever had before.”

Muffet lowered her cup to the table. Her eyes widened, and she felt her heart start to accelerate.

“What I have been trying to say, is that I love you.”

Muffet was speechless, her mouth hanging open. She had a plan coming into their reunion. She would keep her distance, remain calm, and let Asgore plead his case. If it went well, perhaps they would be able to have a new start. While she didn’t plan on letting Asgore off the hook for his dishonesty, with those words he had taken her back to their long talks at night, being welcomed into his family, and nights falling asleep in his arms. She was never one to let herself be taken for a fool, but sometimes being a fool felt right.

Enough time had passed that the affection in Asgore’s gaze was beginning to turn into disappointment and fear. Finally giving in, she grabbed the goat by the horns and yanked him into a deep kiss. Another set of arms wrapped around his neck, trying to pull him even closer. Asgore, flustered at first, flung the table out from beneath them, stood up and pulled her closer. She stood on her toes to continue kissing him, melting as Asgore’s hands rested on her waist. When the two finally broke apart, they were left panting and grinning. They shared a nose nuzzle, eyes never leaving each other.

“Does this mean I am forgiven, then?” Asgore asked.

“Of course not, dearie~ Ahuhuhuhu~” Muffet giggled. “It simply means that I’m going to let you have a chance to earn it.”

“Oh?” Asgore looked down at her inquisitively. “And how would I go about doing that?”

Muffet winked, and nipped at his neck before moving to whisper in his ear. “I have a few ideas, dearie~ Ahuhuhu~”

Asgore ended up washing every dish in the bakery that night.


End file.
